


Oblivion

by NMartin



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, F/F, foxxay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-03-21 05:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3680421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NMartin/pseuds/NMartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Misty Day is trapped in hell dissecting a frog when she hears the headmistress' voice begging her to come back. But, to do that, she has to pay a price: Forgetting everything she had ever loved, including her swamp, Stevie's songs and Cordelia Foxx.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“We’re all waiting for you, Misty.” the swamp witch heard a voice say from the ending of the class, but was too focused on the frog to recognize it. She brought the frog back to life again, just to find it dead again. She sobbed, hearing the laughter of her former classmates increase.

“Sequere Lucem.” the voice continued; its echo filling the room as it spoke. “Venite ad me.”

Misty raised her eyes from the toad, the image of Cordelia crossing her mind. She was kneeling in the ground, sobbing and crying next to her lifeless body. _I need to get out of here._ After some seconds of gathering the courage she needed, Misty pushed the professor aside with a quick movement and ran to the door, avoiding the stools and backpacks that rested on the floor. Her feet were hurting and her mind felt dizzy, but she didn’t care. She had to get out of there.

“Look at that, you have guts.” someone laughed. Misty stopped dead and looked at the origin of the unknown voice. A man stood next to the classroom door and looked at her with an evil smile on his face. His eyes were coal-red, and he wore a black tuxedo jacket and a top hat decorated with bird feathers that covered his dark dreadlocks. “Your time is almost up, Misty Day. It’s time for you to choose.”

“To choose?”

“Once you cross that door, Misty Day, you will be condemned to oblivion.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything will be forgotten, including your memories about your life. You won’t remember who you were or anyone you’ve met before this day.”

“Are you saying that I won’t remember my swamp? Or Stevie’s songs? Or Cordelia?”

“That’s the price of escaping hell.”

Misty closed her eyes, forgetting the laughs that were still heard behind her and focusing on the memories that had started to cross her mind. The life in the swamps; the day she had met Zoe. The day she had arrived to the coven, looking for safety and finding it in the headmistress’ touch. The time they had spent on the greenhouse together, Cordelia teaching her how to revive plants with the help of spells and enchantments. How she had always supported her, even in the toughest times. She remembered the time Cordelia pulled her close in the greenhouse, right after she had succeeded on enchanting a plant, and she had thought that the woman was going to lean in and kiss her. She remembered how she hadn’t had the courage to do it herself after the woman had told her that they made a great team, and instead she had giggled and looked at the plant with hope that someday she would be able to tell her. But she had no more time, and she didn’t want to lose her memories.

“Have you chosen, witch?”

* * *

“Her time is up.”

“No…” Cordelia cried, watching the last grain of sand of the hourglass fall slowly, as if time had suddenly stopped. She couldn’t lose Misty. She was the only one that understood her; she was the only one in that house that didn’t deserve to die. Cordelia closed her eyes, feeling the tears run through her face as she remembered Misty’s adorable smile that same day, when she had finally succeeded in moving the candlestick. She remembered how the swamp witch had always needed a little bit of help to do magic, and how she had been the first person Misty had asked for help. She remembered all the time they had spent on the greenhouse, making basic potions and dancing to Stevie Nick’s songs. She remembered how proud she had been of Misty, and how she had actually thought that Misty could actually be a Supreme. But the most important thing, she remembered how much she had loved her.

But that didn’t matter now. Misty Day was dying on her arms, her skin starting to turn into dust as the grain of sand travelled down in the air. Cordelia hugged her body tightly, knowing that everything was about to be lost. It was then when she heard someone breathe deeply, breaking the silence that had been filling the room for an hour now. Cordelia pulled apart and watched the swamp breathing with difficulty as she slowly open her eyes.

“Misty!” Cordelia exclaimed, a genuine smile on her face appearing as she saw the grain of sand finally arrived to its destiny. She raised a hand to Misty’s face, tenderly removing the golden flocks of curly hair from the witch’s cheek. “Oh, Misty, I thought I had lost you!” she whispered, losing herself in the depths of the woman’s green eyes. The younger witch finally opened her mouth and murmured the first words of her new life.

“Who… who are you?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia doesn’t ‘see’ the grain of sand falling on the hourglass; she kinda imagines it in her mind (kind of like the second vision thing, I guess). She is still blind during Misty’s seven wonders and until she finally becomes the Supreme, just like in the show.

It had been a long day for Cordelia. Just moments after hearing Misty’s confused question, the headmistress had run to the greenhouse, bumping into one of the plants that indicated that she had arrived to the space as her tears ran through her face. Misty didn’t know who she was. She didn’t remember anything about all the time they had spent together in the house. _I’m a stranger for her,_ she thought again and again as she sat in the floor in one corner of the room, hiding her face between her hands while sobbing. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she heard someone walk into the room, behind her.

“Cordelia.” she heard Myrtle call her. She stood up, wiping the tears from her face and looking to the door, where the woman waited. “We have to continue the Seven Wonders.”

“No.”

“Go back to the living room, dear. Your girls have to finish.”

“Not today.”

“I know you love her, but you have to be strong, my dear.”

“I was strong when I discovered that I couldn’t have kids. I was strong when I lost my sight. I was strong when I discovered that Hank lied to me. I was strong when I was a child; I was strong when I was a teenager.” Cordelia answered, grabbing one of the pots and smashing it against the floor. “I’ve been strong many times before, Myrtle. And I’m tired of it! I can’t handle this anymore! I’m weak! I won’t let her continue!”

“She won’t be taking part in them. She’s not the next supreme.”

“What do you mean? For God’s sake Myrtle, could you be clear?”

“Once your time is up and Papa Legba closes the doorway between the loa and humanity, the most pure and innocent souls can make one last deal with him. The deal is giving him their most beloved memories in exchange of getting out of hell.”

“She made a deal with Papa Legba? Why would she do that? I don’t understand.”

“In these ten minutes that you’ve passed here crying, I’ve been talking with her. She remembers that she was burned at the stake long ago and that she’s a witch. She remembers who her parents were. Since she never liked them, Misty remembers the girls perfectly, although she doesn’t know why.” the woman explained as she made a hand movement. The pieces of the smashed pot flew up, rebuilding it as if nothing had happened. “She remembers my face, but didn’t know my name when I asked. She doesn’t know who Stevie Nicks is, but that name sounds familiar to her. But when I asked her about you, nothing rang a bell.”

“But if she doesn’t remember anything about that would mean that…”

“You were the thing she loved the most.”

* * *

It had passed a whole day since Cordelia had talked with the red-headed woman -a day in which Zoe had died and come back to life again, Cordelia had been crowned Supreme and Madison had mysteriously disappeared- but the headmistress couldn’t keep but think anything else than in the woman that had been sleeping in her bed for hours now.

 _Misty. My Misty. You’re here,_ she thought as she looked at the swamp witch that slept peacefully on the bed. Her top had ridden up in the night and the headmistress let her eyes roam over the cute little, perfectly placed navel and the surrounding soft muscles of her abdomen. Her eyes traced up her torso to the rise and fall of her chest, her collarbones and neck, until her gaze finally found the swamp witch’s angelical face. The headmistress grabbed the sheets of the bed and put them over the witch, who let out a deep sigh, bothered by the sudden warm feeling of the soft fabric over her body. She opened her eyes, blinking many times before focusing her gaze on Cordelia.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just checking up on you.”

“Have you been there all night?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, okay, uh...”

“Cordelia.”

“Cordelia...” Misty echoed with a sigh, giving a quick look to the woman. She was older than her, but not as old as the red-headed woman, Myrtle. Her hair was blonde, and she was wearing big glasses and a long dress. _She looks like someone important._ Still lying on her side, the swamp witch looked around the part of the room that was on her range of sight, trying to recognize something. The white walls looked unfamiliar, and the soft touch of the silk sheets was strange to her. There was a clock hanging in one of the walls. I’ve seen that hideous clock before, she thought as she realized that it was almost noon. _How much time I’ve been sleeping?_ she wondered, losing the track of her thoughts as her gaze returned to the woman.

“Cordelia.” the swamp witch repeated with a shy smile as she closed her eyes. “I like it.” she stated before falling asleep again. Cordelia stood still some seconds before gathering some courage and gently putting aside some of the wild curls that covered the swamp witch’s face. Then she walked to the bedroom door and closed it after her.

_Everyone says you only fall in love once, but I know that’s not true. I’ll make you fall in love with me again, Misty Day. I promise._


	3. Chapter 3

When the swamp witch woke up two hours later, the first thing she noticed was the intense smell of flowers that flooded the room. She looked around, trying to find the origin of the scent. Calla lilies. She would recognize that scent from kilometers away. _But why is it so familiar?_ she thought as a vague memory of her small shack crossed her mind, a blurry image of a garden in the middle of a swamp. She tossed it aside, unable to recall the location of the wooden house. She got up slowly, still feeling weak but strong enough to walk. She studied the room, trying to find some slippers on the floor next to the bedside table. The witch turned around, accidentally hitting with her elbow a frame that fell to the floor. Misty gasped, seeing the small pieces of glass that were now scattered around the floor. _Shit, that frame was probably expensive,_ she stated mentally as she ducked to pick the picture that was placed between the pieces of the frame.

A teenage girl smiled shyly. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun, gently accessorized with a simple but stunning tiara. She wore a strapless white couture gown, with a sweetheart neckline and a large full skirt made of tulle. She was effortlessly beautiful, but the thing that captured the swamp witch attention was that, even if dressed with that luxurious dress and standing on the middle of a fancy living room her deep brown eyes were filled with sadness. She reminded her of the woman that she had seen that same night taking care of her. She wondered if the girl was the woman’s daughter, quickly tossing that idea away when she looked at the other side of the picture and read the words written on the bottom left corner.

_‘Cordelia Goode in the debutante ball held at the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans._

_Friday 23 rd April, 1993’_

_Cordelia._ That name had been echoing inside her mind and dreams all night after the woman had left the room. The scent of the flowers got stronger, making the swamp witch forget the swamp witch that she was barefoot and wander through the halls of empty house searching for its origin. She walked downstairs, her eyes closed as she followed her instincts, finally arriving to an open wood door. A blonde woman, with her hair up in a ponytail and wearing a floral skirt and black blouse, leaned on the counter as she focused on the flowers. _Cordelia._

“Oh, Misty. Hi.” the headmistress said shyly when she saw the blonde approaching, her lips turning up slightly at sides in a gentle smile. After half an hour pondering the idea of knocking on the swamp witch’s door –which was actually her own bedroom door, since they had decided that Misty would rest better on the woman’s big and comfortable bed– to see if she was okay, she had decided to run downstairs and focusing on the greenhouse work she still had to do. “Did I wake you up or something?” she questioned, not wanting to interrupt her love’s sleep.

“No, I… Are those Calla lilies, Miss Cordelia?”

“Yes. They’re my favorite kind of lilies.”

“Mine too. It’s a shame they don’t smell.”

“Yes. Although I’m sure that it wouldn’t cover the jasmines’ smell.”

“Yeah, I could smell those flowers from upstairs.

“Oh, I should have closed the door. I bought them three days ago and I still have to plant them in the garden outside.”

“It’s okay, I like the smell. It’s good to be surrounded by something that is not stinky mud.”

“Do you miss your old house?”

“I don’t know, I can barely remember it. Ma'am Myrtle told me yesterday that I lived in a swamp and that I arrived here some weeks ago, asking for shelter. Is that true?”

“Yes. You were running from a witch hunter that was after you.”

“She also told me that it was you who decided to let me stay in this house.” the wild-haired woman stated. “Thank you.” she said with a smile, changing her weight to the other foot as she took one of the lilies in her hands and caressed it with her fingertips. Cordelia saw her swallow hard before continuing her speech with a small shadow of embarrassment in her voice. “Ma’am Myrtle also told me that I was special for you.”

“Really?” Cordelia mumbled, feeling her hands starting to shake. _What has Myrtle told her? I asked her to not to overwhelm Misty with information. She’s still not fully recovered._

“Yeah.” she nodded. “Was I?” the blonde questioned curiously. In her words there was nothing else but innocence.

“Special to me? Yes, you were.” the headmistress admitted, her cheeks turning red as she continued, looking down to her own hands that played with one of the tiniest white flowers. “And you still are.” she added some seconds later.

“That’s weird.” Misty smirked.

“Why?”

“I’ve never felt special.”


	4. Chapter 4

_Kind of Woman_ was playing, and the swamp witch instantly hummed along with the music. The song was unfamiliar to her, but Cordelia had told her that she used to love that song before the ‘Seven Wonders accident’, so she had been listening to that Stevie singer on repeat. Over the past few days she had been told more details about her memory loss, about how she had failed one of the Seven Wonders –ma’am Snow had already explained it to her, but she enjoyed listening to the headmistress talk– and that she had made a deal with some kind of evil spirit that had made her forget some things.

“I didn’t know bay leaves had magic in them.” Misty said, smelling and breaking them before tossing the leaves into the blender. Cordelia smiled.

“They provide protection,” Cordelia clarified before adding another ingredient to the mixture. Misty was going to ask what the unknown element was, but Cordelia talked before she could. “Asafetida.” the woman stated. “Banishes evil.”

 _How does she do that?,_ Misty wondered. It seemed that Cordelia always knew what she was thinking, and she also knew a lot of things about her. For what the swamp witch had seen and heard –because those snob teenage girls spent their days muttering and gossiping whenever she passed next to them– and Misty couldn’t help but think that they had some kind of connection. She had considered the idea of her and Cordelia being sisters, but Myrtle had told her that they were not related. She had wondered if the headmistress was actually her best friend. But now, she questioned if they had been something more. Misty leaned over the blender, sniffing at the mixture inside and quickly pulling back.

“Oh wow, that's some stinky shit.” she laughed, looking at how Cordelia smirked.

“Now, you never use this,” Cordelia said in a serious tone, “unless under extreme circumstances.”

Misty nodded, watching how Cordelia finished preparing her mixture and spread it on the dead plant in front of them.

“Hey, can I try the incantation this time?”

“Go for it.” the woman said with a petite smile. She adored how eager Misty was about learning magic again, and couldn’t help but think in the first time they had practiced magic together. It was in the greenhouse, with Stevie’s _Kind of Woman_ playing in the background and a stinky mixture of laurel and asafetida to revive the-

_This can’t be possible._

Cordelia’s smile disappeared instantly, looking at Misty with horror. The witch was grabbing the note with the spell from the desk, and didn’t turn around for some seconds. Cordelia looked at the plant they were reviving, then at the clothes Misty was wearing, accessorized with a red headband, and then examined her own black clothes. Everything was the same that that day, with the exception of her mismatched eyes. Misty finally turned around, her wide grin disappearing as she saw her face.

“Miss Cordelia, what’s wrong?” she asked, noticing the woman's shaky hands.

“The clothes. I...” the headmistress muttered, unable to say anything coherent.

The memories of that day flooded her mind. Misty reading the spell slowly, failing to revive the plant. Cordelia, telling her to have stronger intent. Misty taking a step forward, chance that the headmistress had used to admire her body, while her friend focused all of her attention on the plant. Misty reading the spell again, making the plant come to life again. Misty's smile as she exclaimed something and held her hands up for a double high-five. Grabbing their hands, Cordelia pulling the swamp witch closer and feeling an urgent need to kiss her. 'We make a great team.' she had said instead.

“I have to go.” was everything Cordelia said before running to her bedroom.

* * *

It had been two hours, and Misty couldn't stand to be alone in the greenhouse anymore. The beautiful songs that came from the music player seemed to upset her, and though she didn't know why, she felt like Cordelia was hiding something from her. She walked upstairs, heading towards Cordelia's bedroom and knocking on the door.

“Go away.”

“Miss Cordelia? It's Misty.”

There was no answer. The swamp witch fixed her clothes and slowly opened the door, gazing around the room until she found Cordelia sitting in the same armchair she had been sleeping in for a week now, although she had put it next to the window.

“Miss Cordelia...”

“I'm sorry.” the woman said without looking at her. The headmistress eyes were focused on the gardens of the school, where Zoe and Queenie were. Misty approached the woman, taking the footstool and placing it in front of the woman before taking a seat on it.

“What happened in the greenhouse?”

“I realized that what was happening was exactly the same as what happened the first time you did that incantation. Every single thing was the same, even your clothes and what we were saying, and I just got scared.” the woman explained.

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of losing you again, I guess.”

“Miss Cordelia, I don't know why you are scared of that. You haven't lost me, and you aren't gonna lose me.” she spoke, grabbing the headmistress hand. “I know I've lost my memories of my time here, but it seems that you were my best friend and I don't want to see you hurt.”

“I'm not hurt, Misty. I'm just scared.”

“Don't be scared, okay?” she said as she tightened the grip on Cordelia's hand and looking into her eyes. “I'm here.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, the interview of this chapter is not the one that appears in the episode, but the one mentioned (the guy who interviews Cordelia says “Since your extraordinary public statement last month…”). That’s why the dialogues are different.

It was almost midday, and though everyone had woken up earlier, the swamp witch knew that Miss Cordelia had been sleeping in the armchair next to the bed. She heard some movement behind the door of the dressing room, but decided that it would be better to go downstairs to eat something. It had already been a week since the Seven Wonders, and she Misty still felt strange and her headaches were still awful, but at least she was as hungry as usual. She walked to the kitchen, grabbed a loaf of bread and went to the dining room, where Zoe played cards with Queenie and Kyle. All of them were wearing their usual black clothes and seemed to wait for someone to make its appearance. Myrtle was next to them, reading a magazine and wearing a long, black dress with sleeves. She looked normal –or at least as normal as the extravagant woman could look.

“What’s happening?” Misty asked when she saw the TV crew set the cameras and the spotlights on the adjacent room. A suited, good-looking man was sitting in a chair, reading out loud a series of sentences and questions. The couches of the room had been moved and now there were only two armchairs in the centre, surrounded by spotlights and people running up and down with cables.

“Cordelia is going to reveal our existence.” Zoe explained unsympathetically. “She wants the academy to be a safe place for witches.”

“You don’t seem really happy about that.”

“I am, really. I just have started not to care about anything.” she shrugged. “It’s going to be great to have more girls living here, but I don’t want to be back to be a normal student.”

“We ain’t normal students, Zoe. We’re the baddest witches in town.” Queenie smiled.

“Kyle, please.” Myrtle said, closing her book and putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Tell Cordelia that she has to come down, it’s time for the interview to start.”

“Now? I have a straight flush, I’m going to win!” the boy complained.

“I’ll go.” Misty offered, swallowing the toast and turning around to exit the room. She passed next to a group of persons who looked at her clothes –a wrinkled dress with a floral pattern on it and a brown dressing gown that she had found on the headmistress’ room– with a mocking smile and headed upstairs. “Miss Cordelia?” she called, knocking on the door of the small space where Cordelia had her clothes and opening it. The headmistress was standing in front of the mirror with two dresses hanging on her hands, her body only covered with black underwear. “Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay, Misty.” Cordelia said, but the swamp witch had already turned around and had her gaze focused on the door. The headmistress left the two dresses on one of the closets and put on her dressing gown. “What did you want?”

“Uh, yeah, Ma’am Snow says that you should go downstairs.”

“Already? I thought I had ten more minutes…” Cordelia sighed.

“It seems that they’re all waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Misty. Tell them that I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay.” the swamp witch grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, but the sound of Cordelia calling her again stopped her and made her turn around.

“Which one do you like more?” Cordelia asked, holding two different dresses on her hand. One was black and simple, with small flower-shaped motives on the knee-length skirt and the neck, while the other was red and long. “I think the red one is too much, but I don’t want them to think that we’re Satanists or a cult or something like that, so I don’t want to wear something that is all black…”

“The red one is truly stunning, Miss Cordelia.”

“Yes, you really used to like it.”

“Did I?”

“Yes! You were always telling me that I should wear brighter colors instead of black and…” Cordelia felt her voice crack again when she thought about all the memories they had built together before the Seven Wonders. “…nevermind.”

“Anyway,” Misty said, trying to avoid the awkward silence that was forming in the room. “I think I like the black one more. I like those little white flowers it has, they’re really pretty.”

“I sewed them myself.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Yes, Aunt Myrtle taught me when I arrived to the academy.”

“Oh, Ma’am Snow is your aunt?”

“Not really. But she’s like a mother to me.”

“Well, Fiona wasn’t exactly the best mama one could have.” Misty muttered. She hated that old witch, and was glad that she was dead.

“Wait, you remember my mother?”

“Uh, yeah… She was awful to me, Miss Cordelia. Well, she was awful to everyone, for what I know.”

“But how did you know she was my mother? You didn’t remember me at all, you couldn’t have know that she was-”

“I saw a picture of her in your room and I asked Kyle if you two were family when he came to bring me dinner.”

“Oh, right. For a moment I thought…” her voice died in her lungs.

“I’m sorry, I still can’t remember.”

“It’s okay, Misty.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. Now please wait for me in the bedroom, I’m gonna get changed.”

“Are you going to wear the black one?”

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“Then I will.”

* * *

“Miss Foxx,” the reporter started. “The reason we’re all here is your revelation of the existence of witches. Could you explain better?”

“Of course. First of all, note that I’m not Cordelia Foxx anymore, so I’d appreciate if you addressed to me as Cordelia Goode now. Witches, like me and my students, are humans gifted with the power to affect change by supernatural or paranormal means, a practice known as witchcraft…”


	6. Chapter 6

Cordelia had been in her office all day, hidden under a ton of appliance files that had arrived that morning. Since the success of her last interview –after a month she had finally convinced the media that the coven wasn't a cult or dangerous, despite the opinions of the most religious groups of the country, and had made them realize that the younger girls of her species actually needed protection– and now more than a hundred young witches waited in line outside the house. _If only Myrtle was here to see this…_

* * *

“You’ve gotta check this shit up.”

“The line is around the block!” Zoe exclaimed as they looked through the window .

“Where are we gonna put all these girls?” Misty asked. She was now fully recovered, and though she often had nightmares and headaches caused by some kind of abstract hell that she never remembered clearly. She sometimes remembered a frog, screams and blood, and sometimes she also saw familiar familiar faces and a muffled voice pronouncing words that she couldn’t comprehend.

“We’ll find more houses if we have to.” Cordelia’s voice got her out of her musings. “Look at you.” she said, approaching them. Misty took a small step backwards, stunned by the beautiful long dress that the woman was wearing. “You three are powerful witches, with more skills and confidence at your young age than I have the much of my life. I need all three of you to help me fulfill the promise of all this coven can be. A place to protect, develop and celebrate witches. You will not only be my right hand, you’ll be my council. What do you say?”

“I got your back.” Queenie answered, taking one of Cordelia’s hands.

“Good. And you?” she said, looking at the younger blonde witch.

“I’d be honored.” Zoe answered, taking the other one so all three were holding hands together. Misty took a step back, knowing that there was no place for her in that council. She was sure that she had never known about that council, not even before she lost her memories. She looked at Cordelia, feeling useless, before turning around and starting to walk towards the door, only to be stopped by the new Supreme.

“Misty?” Cordelia questioned. She had let go of the girls’ hands and was looking at the witch with curiosity, her eyebrow arching gracefully as her smile slowly started to fade. “Where are you going?”

“I was… uh… going to…” she tried to make an excuse, suddenly remembering that Cordelia could read her mind whenever she wanted.

“We’ll wait outside.” Zoe told as she dragged a complaining Queenie out of there. Misty felt her face go red and swallowed hard before admitting that she didn’t know what a witch council was.

“A council is the governing body of the witches and warlocks, and it is responsible of policing witch crimes and helping and advising the Supreme when she needs it.” Cordelia explained as she approached the swamp witch and put her hand on her shoulder. In that moment the question the swamp witch had been asking herself for a month now returned to her mind.

_What if we were more than friends? What if I was in love with her?_

It was true that it had been just a month and a half since the Seven Wonders, but the daily meetings between the Supreme and the swamp witch in the greenhouse where Cordelia had explained to her every single detail she knew about her had made her realize that the headmistress was in fact some kind of guardian angel to her. She had sheltered her in the house, she had taught her everything she could and, to top it, she had taken care of her when she had lost her memories. And though Misty had finally let Cordelia sleep in her bed and had returned to her old room -a small one that was the opposite to the headmistress’, with Stevie Nicks posters and no more furniture than a bed and an old music player- she knew that she had to thank her is some kind of way.

“You’re one of the people I trust the most.” Cordelia stated when she noticed the swamp witch looking down at the floor, and her hand unconsciously moved up, cupping her face and making Misty raise her gaze and look into the woman’s brown eyes as her thumb caressed her cheek. Misty felt that she melted under the woman’s touch. “I want you to be on my council, and I also want you to be by my side when I welcome the new students. Will you do that for me?”

“I’d love to, Miss Cordelia.”

* * *

No one bothered Cordelia when she was doing paperwork, but later that night there was a knock on the office door. She looked at the clock, almost time for the first dinner with the new accepted students.

“Please come in.” the headmistress said, instantly closing the application file that she had been reading. The swamp witch entered the room with a wide smile on her face, carrying a box full of papers. “Hi, Misty. What do you want?”

“I’ve already finished sorting the new girls by powers, just like you asked. Did you know that now we have two new necromancers, Miss Cordelia?”

“Yes, I saw their files yesterday. One of them resuscitated her dog after it got hit by a car, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How cute.” Cordelia laughed. “Anyway, you can put the files there. I’ve already thought about how we should manage this, since it seems that there’s no way we can live with ten girls in each room for much longer, and I think we should be a new house, with more rooms and space to build classrooms. What do you think?”

“It’s a great idea, Miss Cordelia. But where are we gonna find a house so big?”

“There’s two or three big mansions near here that could do. And they’re like just a few blocks away.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Yes it is.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Uh, Miss Cordelia…”

“Yes?”

“Before all of this happened… I mean, before I lost my memory… were we in love?”


	7. Chapter 7

“Why… why do you ask that, Misty?” Cordelia questioned after she regained her breath.

“I’ve seen how you look at me when you think I’m not watching, every time we’re in the greenhouse and I’m looking at the plants or I’m getting something from the higher shelves that you can’t reach. Every time you look at me your eyes have this kind of sparkle and it makes me feel those weird little butterflies in my stomach that everyone talks about, and my legs start to shake. I’ve seen the way you smile every time I get excited after doing an incantation right. At night, you come to my room to make sure I’m sleeping well and not having nightmares; you tuck me in so that I’m not cold. Sometimes you cry after you do that, I can hear you from the bed. The other night I wanted to knock on your door, because you had been crying for hours, but I didn’t have the courage to do it.

You laugh at my strange sense of humor, and I know sometimes you do that just so I don’t feel alone or like an idiot. You make me feel good about myself; you support my beliefs and my interests and never criticize them like the other girls do.  You know almost everything I can’t remember, and I have the feeling that is not because you were my mentor or because we were best friends. When I am with you my heart is like one of those rides in the amusement parks, beating really fast and turning me inside out. I don’t care about my loss of memory when I’m with you, because I kinda feel safe when I’m near you, and this last month I’ve started to realize that you seemed to be really important to me before the Seven Wonders and that’s probably why I don’t remember you. If Ma’am Snow is right and I’ve lost the things that mattered the most to me, it would make sense that we were in love before, right?”

“Yes, I guess it would…” Cordelia muttered, looking down at the files on her desk again.

“Yes it would, and I just wanted you to know that I’m falling in love with you, Miss Cordelia, and that it would make me really happy if you loved me back.”

“Misty, I-”

“It’s okay if you don’t.” Misty interrupted her again. “I’ll be happy to be just your friend. Just…” she continued, looking for something in the hidden pocket of her dress. “Keep this.” she finally said, taking a small box and leaving it on the table before exiting the room. Cordelia shook her head and took off her glasses, still trying to understand what had just happened. _Misty just entered through that door and asked me if we were in love. Misty just told me that she is falling in love with me._ Cordelia reached for the box, carefully wrapped in a page of that morning’s newspaper. She slowly unwrapped it, revealing a graceful swan necklace crafted with bald cypress wood that seemed to be handmade. Cordelia held it in her hands as she observed the beautiful silver chain before realizing the small folded paper that was inside the box too. She took it on her hands and unfolded it.

 

> _‘Hello dear Miss Cordelia,_
> 
> _If you’re reading this I’ve probably already gathered the courage to ask you on a date, or at least to tell you that I’m in love with you. I kinda prepared a speech for that, I hope I didn’t stutter too much. This is kinda the last part of that speech. I know I have only met you for a month, but I have the feeling that I met you long ago before my accident. You’ll probably have seen the necklace before this note, so I guess I have to explain why a swan._
> 
> _I don’t know if it’s true, but my mother always said that swans’ love lasts for life. She said that they were always loyal to each other and that no matter what happened, they always loved each other as much as they could. I know it’s silly, but the first time I saw your face after waking up you were holding me and crying, and it instantly broke my heart. You looked awful, with those eyes that were swollen and red, but I think for a moment I remembered two stunning beautiful mismatched eyes. I still don’t know if it was a dream or if I saw inside you. I’ve been thinking about that moment for a month, and now I dream of it every night._
> 
> _I really suck at writing this kind of stuff, so long story short: I think you’re my swan._
> 
> _Misty.’_

Cordelia folded the paper and put it on the box again, feeling the tears run down her cheeks. She looked at the necklace again. _Misty loves me,_ was her only thought as she unclasped it and put it on before walking outside the room. She passed next to a group of students that tuned their heads to see how their new Supreme, wearing a brown vine printed dress and stiletto heels, ran upstairs desperately with tears on her face. The woman ran across the corridor hurriedly, the long dress fluttering behind her and her heels clicking against the floor with every step she took towards the swamp witch’s room.

“Misty.” she mumbled when she finally reached the door. She put her hand on the doorframe as she tried to normalize her breaths. “Misty.”

“Miss Cordelia.” the swamp witch said in response. She was sitting in the window sill with her arms around her knees, her face turning from the window to the woman’s face. She carefully studied the headmistress’ facial features, from the deep of her brown eyes to her full lips, before letting her gaze fall to Cordelia’s neck. She stood up with a petite smile on her face. “You’re wearing the necklace.”

“Yes.” Cordelia said, walking into the room with little steps, slowly approaching the swamp witch. “Did you make it?”

“Yeah. When I came back to this room I found a box full of wood carving tools under my bed and I thought I’d give it a try. Do you like it?”

“It’s really beautiful, Misty. I love it.” Cordelia said, her hand travelling up to lightly touch the necklace. “I love you.” she muttered, looking into the witch’s bright eyes nervously.

“What?” Misty questioned with a smile, just for the pleasure of hearing the woman say that out loud. Cordelia inhaled deeply before talking again.

“I love you, Misty Day. I’ve loved you for a long time, since the day you succeeded with your first incantation. Every since that day, I’ve spent all the time I could looking at you because I am still trying to get accustomed to have someone to look at like I do when  look at you. You’re stunningly beautiful and I really love your delicate smile. I guess it makes me feel happy to see that you’re willing to spend time with me; no one has ever done that. And when you failed Descensum I felt that my life had no meaning, because I thought you would die before I had the chance to tell you that I loved you.”

“You… hadn’t told me?”

“No. We were not lovers, Misty. I was madly in love with you, but I never told you because you seemed to be really happy with being my friend and I didn’t want to fuck it up.” Misty giggled. “What?”

“It’s the first time I hear you cuss.” the swamp witch said, making Cordelia chuckle. “Not very classy for a Supreme.”

“I’m not acting as the Supreme right now. I’m just Cordelia, the woman who is incredibly in love with you and who wants to spend all her life with you.” Misty raised her hands and cupped the headmistress’ face, her fingertips wiping away the woman’s almost dry tears. “What do you say,” Cordelia continued, “will you be my swan too?”

“Always, Miss Cordelia.” she said, wrapping her free hand behind Cordelia's neck and slowly pulling her closer. The taller blonde then moved her other hand from the woman's face, down to her hip, holding the headmistress’ body close against her own. Misty looked quickly between Cordelia's eyes and lips as she slowly moved closer, pressing their lips together in pure bliss. The headmistress’ lips quickly became the sole focus of Misty's attention, in the same way Cordelia couldn’t think about anything else than kissing the swamp witch in a way that none of them would ever forget.


End file.
